Château Capbern, St Estèphe, 2018

Name: Château Capbern, St Estèphe
Brand: Château Capbern
Price: 131.92 GBP

Available Vintages

all 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

justerini & brooks tasting note

This excellent estate situated between Calon Segur and Montrose benefits from the same wine making team as Calon Segur: Laurent Dufau, Vincent Millet and Eric Boissenot. The fruit from this vineyard formed part of Calon Segur until the 2006 vintage, when the late Denise Gasqueton decided to create a separate label. It has now dropped the Gasqueton from its name and will just be called 'Capbern'. It has its own very smart winery and there is a very handsome Chateau tucked away behind the church in St Estephe. The 2018 is produced from 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot, cropped at 41hl/ha and is the best example we have tasted to date. This really feels like it has Calon Segur class. Lovely floral Cabernet perfume of violets, cassis and bright cranberry. Texturally, this is really refined and chiselled, with great focus and intensity and a suave tannic profile coated with fine berry detail and minerals. Another very smart Capbern.

critic reviews

92/100Lisa Perrotti-Brown,The Wine Independent

The Capbern 2018 has a deep garnet-purple color. It needs a little coaxing to reveal notions of cedar, pencil shavings, and bay leaves, over a core of redcurrant jelly, black raspberries, and ripe plums. Medium-bodied, the palate is delicately played and refreshing, with fine-grained tannins and lovely purity on the finish.

DRINKING WINDOW 2023 - 2035

date of review 02/2023

91-93/100Lisa Perrotti-Brown,Robert Parker Wine Advocate

The 2018 Capbern is composed of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot and comes in at 14.6% alcohol. It's anticipated to age for 16 months in barriques, 60% new. Deep purple-black in color, it leaps from the glass with vibrant scents of black raspberries, kirsch and fresh blackcurrants with nuances of cedar chest, pencil lead and forest floor plus a waft of lavender. Full-bodied, rich and packed with juicy fruit, it has a firm line of grainy tannins and loads of freshness, finishing with an herbal lift.

date of review 04/2019

90-92/100Antonio Galloni,Vinous

The 2018 Capbern is expressive, nuanced and inviting, with lovely upfront fruit. In 2018, Capbern is a bit compact and tightly wound, but it also has a good deal of persistence. The Cabernet is quite marked in the 2018, which is not a bad thing, it just means the wine is going to need time to be at its best. What really stands out, though, is the push and pull between the bright aromatics that this cool, clay-rich soil helped give in 2018, and the ripe, radiant fruit of the warm summer. That interplay makes for an absolutely compelling wine. Red cherry fruit, mint, dried flowers, cedar and tobacco add aromatic nuance to this highly expressive, vibrant Saint-Estèphe. The blend is 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot. Tasted two times.

date of review 04/2019